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Putting the Pieces of Life Back Together in Recovery

Addiction recovery offers the troubled a chance to reset their lives and start over. After spending months or years in the grasp of addiction, it can be painful to make a candid assessment of the state of your work, social, and family relationships. Being honest with yourself is crucial and the only way to make a game plan to get back to a normal, productive life.

When you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol, all aspects of your life are colored by the cloud of your disease. Each one deserves focused effort to rebuild and improve.

Work Life

If your performance or attendance at work has been affected by addiction, you should approach work in recovery in gratitude and with a renewed sense of duty. Showing up to work on time and performing to the best of your ability each day is the best way to rebuild credibility and trust, and having a structured work week will aid you in your recovery. The more structure you can build into your life the better.

Social Life

Each addicted person’s situation is unique and their choices about how to shape their friend group in recovery are likewise unique. In many cases, separating one’s self from friends who use is the best step to ensure a successful recovery. This is not the case for every person—for many, the renewed willpower that enabled them to beat addiction is sufficient to resist trigger situations and pressure from friends.

Keep this in mind— true friends always want the best for you. If your friends are pressuring you to use despite your recovery efforts, do they have your best interests at heart? No matter how long you’ve been their friend, you need to take care of #1 and avoid people and situations that would derail your earnest efforts.

Family Life

As the disease of addiction warps a person’s normal decision-making, too often the people closest to them are the ones who suffer most. Whether through theft, failure to uphold responsibilities, or lying and manipulation, people in recovery often have lots of work to do to rebuild relationships with family members.

Addiction usually results in a pattern of betrayal that will take a long time to rebuild. A sincere apology is a good start when made from a place of sobriety, but improving communication and spending constructive time together with spouses, children, and parents are the means to restoring trust and friendliness.

Healthy Activities and Lifestyle

Addicts in recovery need to continue attending meetings on a regular schedule. Outside of that, they should look to develop healthy habits to fill their time. Many people enjoy fitness, taking up running, cycling, or yoga. Others find meaning in hobbies like woodcarving or recreational passions like fishing and hunting. Although these activities are all quite different, they all bring structure and fulfillment to the life of a person in recovery.

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